Chapter 23
AN: I really hope you like this chapter. I am incredibly proud of both this chapter and the next so I hope you like them.
"Excuse me?" Albus asks, even though he knows exactly what Mie said he is disbelieving, he cannot believe that his daughter actually said those words.
"You need to go see him," Mie repeats, feeling more confident. "Dad, I know you have your reasons not to, and they're completely valid, but I also think going to see him is something you need to do, just as much as you needed to use the stone yesterday," Mie tells her father.
"I can't leave, the school…" Albus starts to say.
"Can be protected in other ways if you go," Mie reminds her father, knowing he knows that. "Can you honestly say that you haven't spent every minute since you received that letter wondering what he wants to talk to you about?" Mie asks her father as she assumes he has.
"I can't," Albus admits. "But I cannot risk anyone's safety because of my own desires," Albus tells his daughter, telling her exactly what she was expecting.
"Okay, I'm going to make an argument that I am sure you've thought of but may need to hear," Mie tells her father who gives her a curious look. "From what I've read Gellert's a seer, and while I'm sure your history and relationship is part of the reason why he is so desperate to see you, what if that's part of the reason too? That there is something he needs to warn you about?" Mie asks her father.
"I have considered that," Albus admits, just like Mie knew he would have. "But I don't know if it could be as simple as that," Albus admits, and Mie is pretty sure that a warning couldn't be close to being simple, but she doesn't voice that, instead the two of them drift into silence.
After having breakfast with her father Mie has left their quarters and is searching for her friends. As is the weekend, and holidays, the first place goes to is not the Gryffindor Common room, but rather the empty classroom she knows the seventh years spend their time in.
Walking into the room Mie sees her friends sitting around the room while Sirius and Severus in the middle of the room, facing each other with their wands drawn.
"What's going on?" Mie asks concerned as she walks over to where Remus and Amelia are standing together, feeling incredibly confused when neither look concerned.
"Mock duels," Remus explains, and as he does Amelia notices the look on Mie's face.
"It's okay, its completely friendly," Amelia assures her.
"Good to know," Mie responds, feeling glad about that as things make sense now.
"Are you okay?" Remus asks concerned. "You worried us yesterday," Remus admits, with a quite voice.
"I'm okay," Mie assures him. "There was just something I released I needed to do," Mie admits. "I'll fill you in later," Mie assures her friends.
"Good," Remus and Amelia respond as the three of them continue to watch the mock duel that is going on between Sirius and Severus.
While his daughter is meeting up with her friends, Albus who has accepted that his daughter is right and has changed into his favourite lavender robes, is walking into Minerva's office as if he is going to do this then he needs to make sure the school is as protected as possible.
"Good morning, Minerva," Albus says, walking into his friend's office through the open door which he closes behind him.
"Albus," Minerva says, looking glad to see him. "I was starting to get concerned I haven't seen you since yesterday and the students informed me that Mie didn't return to Gryffindor Tower last night," Minerva explains.
"There was something we had to do yesterday Annemie elected not to return to her dorm," Albus explains, and as he does Minerva realises exactly what happened.
"You used the stone," Minerva realises.
"Annemie insisted," Albus answers.
"I'm glad," Minerva says. "I hope it gave you some closure," Minerva says and Albus gives his old friend a grateful look. "Is there something I can help you with Albus?" Minerva asks, as it is clear to her that Albus doesn't want to talk about what he saw with the stone.
"I will be away from Hogwarts for the rest of the day," Albus revels. "If something happens, Gideon and Fabian are in the grounds, under pretence of meeting with Hagrid, Alastor is also here, and there are several Order Members in Hogsmeade," Albus explains.
"Are you expecting problem?" Minerva asks concerned.
"It is better to be prepared," Albus tells Minerva. "I will see you upon my return," Albus tells his deputy before turning and leaving.
"Albus," Minerva says, and he turns back around. "Are you alright?" Minerva asks concerned about him, as he seems even more 'closed off' than usual.
"That Minerva, is a question I will answer upon my return," Albus responds before leaving causing Minerva to watch her go with a frown on her face, feeling extremely worried about her old friend.
After leaving Minerva's office Albus makes his way down to the grounds and after casting a Disillusionment Charm on himself Albus collects the Thestral that Hagrid prepared for him.
"Nurmengard Castle, Austrian Alps," Albus tells the Thestral once he is comfortably seated, and the creature quickly takes off into the air. As Albus quickly travels through the air, out of the protection of Hogwarts Albus isn't thinking about anything he left behind, or what may happen in his absence, but is completely on the person he will be seeing when he reaches his destination.
After a trip that feels shockingly short, even though Albus knows perfectly well how quickly Thestrals travel, the Thestral that Albus is riding on heads towards the ground and lands within the grounds of Nurmengard.
"Thank you," Albus tells the creature, as he climbs off and removes his Disillusionment charm.
After his feet are firmly on the ground Albus can't help but stare up at the castle. When he was a boy, he listened to Gellert talk about the castle as he laid on his chest, as a young man he snuck into the castle to talk to Gellert as a futile effort to get him to stop what he was doing, and as he has gotten older not a day has passed where he hasn't thought of this castle, and the man who was living inside.
"Professor," A voice says, snapping Albus out of his thoughts, and he looks up to see Warden Lori Karma waiting for him on the steps of the entrance into Nurmengard.
"Warden Karma," Albus says, walking over to her and once they are close enough the two of them shake hands.
"How was your journey?" Karma asks.
"Quite pleasant," Albus says, honestly wanting to very much get over the small talk.
"I'm glad to hear that," Lori says as they walk inside. "As I said in my letter, I have been Warden here for twenty years and Grindelwald has been a model prisoner in that time, but I cannot allow you to have your wand when you speak to him," Lori says, feeling that the have to be careful.
"Of course, I understand," Albus responds, as he was expecting that.
"I have spoken to the guards, about your request, and they agree that you will be given complete privacy and can stay as long as you need," Karma tells Albus who is surprised to hear that as when he sent the letter with the request after speaking to Mie, he didn't think it would be granted, but he is also very glad.
"Thank you," Albus responds as they get to what looks like a reception desk.
"If you leave your wand now, I can take you up to where Grindelwald is," Karma says and Albus does exactly that.
Once Albus hands over his wand, that was Gellert's for so many years, he and Karma head upstairs, walking in silence. With every step he takes Albus feels his heartbeat faster as while he saw Gellert a few weeks ago he saw him from the shadows, and he didn't speak to him, now he is going to do just that.
"I will be downstairs in my office when you're done if you would like talk before leaving," Karma informs Albus when they get to Grindelwald's room, and she uses her wand to unlock it.
"Thank you." Albus says and Karma walks away.
After Karma walks away Albus stands in front of the door, staring at it, knowing that behind the door he will find the love of his life. As he stands at the door Albus knows that for every moment he stays outside is another moment he can imagine what he is going to find when walk inside.
Drawing on every ounce of courage he has Albus opens the door and walks into the room. As he walks, he finds Gellert sitting on the bed staring at the door, there being no doubt in Albus's mind that he sensed him as soon as he approached the door. While Gellert looks far from how he looked when they battled, he doesn't quite look like the book described him to look and in a lot of ways that fills Albus with relief.
"Albus," Gellert greats, his voice sounding exactly the same as the last time Albus heard him, a voice that once made Albus happier than anything in the world.
"Gellert," Albus responds, looking Gellert up and down trying to assess whether he is okay, or at least whether he is as okay as he can be considering the circumstances.
"I wasn't sure you would come," Grindelwald tells Albus.
"I wasn't actually sure I would come myself," Albus admits, purposely staying across the room as he doesn't trust himself to be closer to Grindelwald.
"And yet you very recently visited in the middle of the night and stayed in the shadows," Gellert says to Albus, who doesn't prevent the brief look of surprise to pass over his face. "Did you really think I wouldn't realise? I always know when you're near," Gellert asks, having noticed the look which doesn't at all surprise Albus.
"Truthfully, I wasn't thinking," Albus admits, and now it's Gellert's turn to look surprised.
"That doesn't sound like you," Gellert tells hm.
"It's been a long time. You don't know me anymore," Albus responds, sounding defensive, needing to believe that needing to have a metaphorical shield up, even though he knows that there will always be apart of him that only Gellert knows.
"Oh Liebling, I will always know you," Gellert says, and with the smug smirk on his face it is so easy for Albus to picture him as a young man, and so he has to look away from him, as that's the look he fell in love with.
"I'm here, Gellert," Albus says, not looking directly at him, as it would be so easy to fall back into old habits if he did. "What did you want to talk to me about?" Albus asks, feeling that they need to get to the reason for his visit otherwise things are going to spiral even further, and he doesn't even want to imagine where that will lead.
"I've had some rather unusual experiences of late, and everything I know tells me they are connected to you," Gellert explains, and moving quickly Albus turns to look at him once more.
"What experiences? What has been happening?" Albus asks, his voice hurried, and he quickly runs through what has been going on, wondering if anything he has been doing could have affected Grindelwald.
"Is that worry I hear?" Gellert asks, feeling both shocked and very much loving it, as it tells him that Albus's feeling for him aren't completely gone, which is his biggest fear, that after all these years Albus no longer loves him, even though Gellert never stopped loving him.
"Gellert," Albus says simply giving his old lover a look which says he is not in a joking mood, something which Gellert quickly realises.
"The night after you paid your little silent visit I was sitting here, eating, when suddenly I had a feeling that told me that something was fundamentally different, that something had change," Gellert explains, watching Albus closely for reactions. "It is a feeling I have experienced twice before," Gellert reveals, and Albus doesn't need Gellert to say for him to know that those two times were when they made the blood pack and when the physical representation of the troth was destroyed.
"You said some experiences, what else has been happening?" Albus asks, trying to figure out why Gellert would have been affected by him blood adopting Mie, which is what fits with what Gellert is describing, as he was pretty sure that wasn't possible.
"That same night, I felt terror, a feeling of being overwhelmed, and worry for someone," Gellert explains, and Albus knows exactly why that would have been. "Fourteen days later I felt pain that wasn't mine, a day later I felt intense worry, like I couldn't breathe, along with being certain about something, and overwhelming love," Gellert admits, knowing that he didn't know what to think about that, though he did feel a little jealous. "Yesterday I felt guilt, pain, and worry for someone," Gellert explains, and as he is watching Albus so intensely he realises that Albus knows exactly what is going on. "You know what I am experiencing," Gellert realises, not feeling surprised as he knew that Albus would have the answers.
"I do, but I don't… you're a seer," Albus suddenly says, looking at Gellert with a look of realisation on his face.
"Which you've known since we met," Gellert says, standing up, not completely understanding the realisation look when Albus has known what he just said for a very long time.
"You're feeling… but how…. It's destroyed… but it happened," Albus says, packing back and forth, running his hand up and down his beard. "The changes… not yours," Albus mutters as he tries to make sense of things, knowing that if when Mie's appearance changed and the changes made her look like Gellert he would recognize it right away, but they didn't, and as he paces back and forth, Gellert realises that he is trying to make sense of things and so he just watches as he always enjoyed watching Albus's mind work. "Intertwined, sensitive to both of us, ancient magic," Albus mutters, as the pieces fall into place for him, but while he knows what happened he isn't completely sure he understands how it did.
"Would you like to fill in the gaps Mein Schatz?" Gellert asks, taking several steps towards Albus, and Albus tenses at the old nicknames as it once meant everything for him to hear it.
"I have a daughter," Albus reveals, forcing himself not to think about how the old name makes him feel, and he sees a look of complete shock on Gellert's face. "The night after I came to visit you, I blood adopted her," Albus explains, not wanting to tell Gellert the cover story that they told everyone else, in fact he never even considered it.
"I may be out of the loop, but I believe Blood Adoption is illegal, Professor," Gellert says, trying to digest everything Albus just said.
"It is," Albus confirms. "Which is why as far as most people are concerned, I had a secret daughter that I never told anyone about before now," Albus explains to Gellert, who looks amazed and shocked at that. "She told me I had to come see you," Albus tells Gellert, and he isn't completely sure why that is.
"You told your daughter about me?" Gellert asks, sounding amazed, thinking of the implications of that.
"I didn't have to," Albus reveals, and Gellert gives a confused look. "My daughter is from the future," Albus explains, even though most people, even those who know everything, wound tell him not to tell Gellert Grindelwald of all people this he feels like it's the right thing, though he cannot bring himself to tell Gellert Mie's name. "She has spent the last few years fighting a war, after a lifetime of pain, and abuse, of having no one who truly understood her brilliant brain, of being hurt and ignored by those who should have not only protected her but loved her unconditional," Albus explains, pain and anger in his voice.
"You wanted to give her the love and support she has never had," Gellert realises, smiling and thinking 'typical Albus', and Albus nods. "You saw yourself in her, in her loneliness and pain, and considered her to be your daughter well before you blood adopted her," Gellert realises, knowing that because he knows Albus, and once again Albus gives a small nod. "Why did your daughter time travel?" Gellert asks curious.
"Do you know about Voldemort?" Albus asks, as he can't be sure whether Gellert would or not.
"I've heard the guards talking," Gellert reveals, and Albus knows that mean he listened to obtain all the information he could, which is good because it saves Albus from giving a complete explanation.
"Voldemort used to be known as Tom Riddle and he was a student of mine," Albus reveals, and even though he doesn't say it Gellert can hear the guilt in Albus's voice which he knows to mean that Albus feels guilty for not saving this Riddle from the dark side. "He's amassing a following of people who believe in his ideals," Albus explains, leaving so much unsaid, but Gellert knows exactly what he isn't saying. "In the timeline my daughter came from Voldemort is active for three more years, before his body is destroyed. He survives in spirit form and returns to both a body and power thirteen years later," Albus tells Gellert, who understands enough about magic to know what Albus isn't saying. "For three more years he was in power, during which time he caused unimaginable death and destruction, including taking over the British Ministry, he had completely control," Albus says, knowing that Gellert will be one of the only people who appreciate how difficult that would have been, and what he would have likely done to achieve that. "My daughter came to this time with information that detailed events that had occurred, and how to defeat Tom," Albus explains.
"She told you something, something that made you come here and check on me," Gellert realises, walking closer to his former love. "What did she tell you Liebling?" Gellert asks, reaching out and putting his hand against Albus's cheek, but rather than pulling away Albus leans into the hand as it is a touch he has truly missed.
"You die," Albus says, pain in his voice, Gellert's touch feeling so familiar, but so foreign as it's been so long. "You die laughing at Tom, trying to prevent him from desecrating my grave," Albus explains, tears rolling down his face, and so Gellert, with the hand that is against Albus's cheek, wipes them away, as he feels his own pain at the imagine of the beautiful man standing before him dead in his grave.
"I'm alive, Mein Schatz, we both are," Gellert says, his voice shaking as he never wants to imagine a world without Albus in it, and despite his previous actions he has never wanted to, so he will do whatever he can to make sure it doesn't happen. As he feels Gellert's gentle touch Albus doesn't want the moment to end, he never wants to move away, but he also know that he has to face reality.
"I'm fighting a war Gellert," Albus tells him, his voice barley above a whisper. "Every single day I am fighting to prevent a future I know is coming," Albus tells him, pain in his voice.
"And I can see the future, Albus," Gellert reminds him.
"What are you saying?" Albus asks, looking into Gellert's mis matched eyes, and not even daring himself to hope that Gellert is about to say what it seems like he is.
"I was wrong," Gellert tells him. "What I did….. I was wrong," Gellert admits. "I know I belong here for what I did, and I'm so sorry for what we became, for how I hurt you," Gellert admits, having been planning for what he would say for a very long time, if he ever got the chance. "We used to talk about changing the world, what I did wasn't the way, maybe preventing the future your daughter time travelled to prevent is what we are supposed to do," Gellert reveals and hearing the words, words that Albus never believed he would ever hear, Albus isn't sure what to think, but he knows, in his heart, that it is exactly what he wants.